The Wire

Pedophilia is one of the most despised crimes in our society. And many communities don’t want convicted child sex offenders living amongst them, because of the fear of reoffending. Under new measures announced over the weekend, NSW will be the first state to alert specific individuals in local communities when a pedophile moves into their area. This means that Police would notify people in positions of trust such as school principals, leaders of sporting organisations and scoutmasters. NSW Council for Civil Liberties President, Cameron Murphy, says this move will lead to vigilante-ism in the community. But how real is the pedophile threat? Is it just media scare-mongering, or do sex-offenders have a high rate of recidivism? Well, according to a new report, sex offenders are at risk to the community for much longer that previously thought, and much longer than other types of criminals. The British study found that while over 15% of male sex offenders were re-convicted after 5 years, a quarter had re-offended after 21 years. The problem is, that we don’t know what the figures are like for Australia, but is this new policy a step in the right direction? Ella O’Keefe spoke to NSW Parents and Citizens Association spokesman, David Giblin, and President of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, Cameron Murphy.